Common Stakeholder Challenges, Pt. II: Having Too Many Stakeholders

In my last blog post, I talked about what happens when you don’t include the right stakeholders. However, that’s not the only issue that you can face when it comes to the content review process. Sometimes, you can have too many stakeholders involved.

Scenario 2: Including Too Many Stakeholders

Jack recently started as the content manager at a software startup. He’s getting the lay of the land. Today, he’s meeting with Lacey, a developer who’s been tasked with handling content.

“So, walk me through the content review process,” Jack says. “Who reviews the content after it’s been completed?”

“Well, I run it past some of the other developers to make sure it’s accurate,” Lacey replies.

Jack nods. “Okay, the SMEs. Makes sense.”

“And then Dean, the head of Development,” she continues.

“Right, for final approval.”

“Ah, not final approval.” Lacey corrects him. “There’s Greg, the founder.”

“Uh huh.”

“And Greg always gets his dog walker to look it over.”

“Wait, what?” Jack blinks. “His dog walker?”

Lacey nods. “Greg wants to make sure that it resonates with the common man.”

“The common man?”  Jack repeats. “Is his dog walker our target market?”

She shrugs. “That’s just the way he does it. Oh, and Charlene from Accounting always looks at the blog posts.”

“Charlene from Accounting?” Jack blinks again.

“Yeah. Charlene has been here since Day 1.” She leans forward. “And between you and me, Charlene gets really upset if she’s not included. It’s become like, a thing.”

Jack rubs his forehead.

Solution 2: Picking the Right Stakeholders

While the above example is exaggerated for effect, the phenomenon of too many cooks in the content kitchen is one we’ve probably all experienced. I know I have.

Sometimes, there’s a mindset that everyone has to weigh in on a piece of content, regardless of whether they’re affected by it or if it’s part of their job description. As a result, you can have multiple, conflicting comments. It’s a confusing, frustrating situation for everyone involved.

“But wait,” you say. “In the first scenario, you mentioned several departments—Sales, Legal, Product, Customer Service—that might also need to see a piece of content. Are you saying they shouldn’t?”

That’s not what I’m saying at all. What I am saying is that you should pick designated representatives from relevant departments. These people should be engaged at the strategy stage to ensure that the content is accurate and useful to your audience.

Stakeholder Content Review Best Practices

Content review isn’t a free-for-all. It’s about having the right people be involved with creating content.

However, there are times when the right people don’t want to be involved. Which leads me to Scenario 3…